WORKERS at Impala Platinum Mine in Rustenburg, North West are still traumatised by the tragic incident that happened on Monday, 27 November.
The miners have raised concerns about the risks of going underground.
Operations are still suspended at shaft 11 where 12 workers lost their lives and 74 were admitted to different hospitals and 14 are in a critical condition.
Daily Sun spoke to several workers, and they raised concerns about their safety at the mine.
Workers said working at the mine is a risk and they always wonder if they would return home when they report for duty.
One of the workers claimed that the only time they saw safety procedures being followed was during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Besides during lockdown, cages are always full. A cage carries 35 people, but we are normally over 50 inside," he said.
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Another worker said the cage had been trapping for some time.
"I suspect the fall was caused by safety devices," he said.
He said the devices are normally checked regularly, so he wonders what went wrong.
"There are so many safety devices in that cage that could have prevented the cage from falling. If all of them failed to hold the cage that means the devices were not properly monitored," he said.
An experienced worker who has been working as a miner for 22 years said this was a tragedy.
"I've never seen such a horrible incident where a cage carrying workers falls. We send our heartfelt condolences to the affected families and a speedy recovery to the injured workers," he said.
North West Premier Bushy Maape sent his heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased mine workers.
Maape said his thoughts are with the bereaved families during this difficult time and wished the injured mineworkers, who are currently receiving medical attention at various hospitals, a speedy and full recovery.
"I also sympathise with the mine management and fellow colleagues of the affected mineworkers because of the emotional trauma they are going through. I remain positive that the psycho-social support provided will yield encouraging results," he said.
He said he is hopeful that a probe that has already been launched will not only reveal the cause of this incident, but will bring forward recommendations to end such unfortunate incidents.
